B & I Cup

fter a stellar performance against Munster earlier in the year, the European champions failed to impress during their trip to Ravenhill for the second of the Irish Derbies. In front of a shivering crowd of 11,523, Leinster lost out to Ulster in a poor 16 - 14 defeat. Although tries from Berne and Fitzgerald left Leinster able to walk away with a bonus point, another strong performance from Ian Humphries and a try from Isaac Boss gave the Ulstermen the edge, putting them on top of the table with a one point lead over Leinster.

Despite having the wind at his back, Shaun Berne missed three penalties in the first half; he looked visibly disappointed as Humphries kicked against the wind to score three points following a yellow card for Jackman. Leinster responded with force with a powerful display from Brian O'Driscoll opening a gap for Berne to land a try, which he managed to convert with little difficulty.

With the wind behind him in the second half, Humphries took full advantage as he slotted home a penalty in the 46th minute. Some intense play from the men in white ended with Boss tearing down the side of the pitch to score a superb try. Humphries converted, putting them six points in the lead. Sexton, coming on to replace Berne, needed a big game to secure his position as heir to Ronan O'Gara, but unfortunately couldn't deliver after knocking the ball forward during the best try scoring opportunity of the night.

Humphries then kicked another penalty home a few minutes later to rub salt in the wound.

Although the match seemed over at this point, a brilliant injury time cross kick from Nacewa was caught and touched down over the line by Fitzgerald. Sexton converted to give Leinster a bonus point, a small consolation in an otherwise forgettable night.